- Myanmar: Junta forces seize key resistance HQ and bases held by opposition, regime media says
Source: ABC News
“Myanmar’s military has seized a key resistance military command headquarters and 10 other bases in the south of the country, state media reported Tuesday, marking a new gain by the army in the civil war as it seeks control of regions long held by resistance forces. The capture of the bases in the jungle along the border between Mon state and the Bago region marks the latest setback suffered by pro-democracy armed groups and ethnic militias fighting the army. The reported capture could not be independently confirmed because the military does not allow journalists free access to the area, but the claim has not been challenged.” (11/10/26)
- Report: US federal authorities could have prevented Epstein crimes
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Crimes committed by the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein after 2005 could have been prevented were it not for ‘failures’ by federal investigators and prosecutors, a congressional investigation has concluded. The Republican-led US House Oversight Committee on Tuesday released its final report into what it described as the ‘decades-long’ mishandling of the criminal investigations into Epstein and his long-term associate Ghislaine Maxwell. The report’s findings are based on interviews and depositions with witnesses, government files, and financial records over a 15-month period. Epstein died in 2019 as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. ‘While some of these failures involved an exercise in poor judgement by the USAO, others appeared to be the result of Epstein’s pervasive and wide-reaching influence,’ the report reads, referring to the US Attorney’s Office.” (11/10/26)
- US gas prices fall below $4 per gallon for the first time since July
Source: NBC News
“The average nationwide price for regular gasoline Tuesday fell below $4 per gallon for the first time since July 20, according to data from motor club AAA. The drop comes as oil prices have plunged, with President Donald Trump repeatedly playing down the prospect of renewed strikes on Iran, and pushing for progress between Russia and Ukraine in new trilateral talks. Still, gas prices remain elevated by more than 30% since Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched the Iran war Feb. 28, and around 40% since the beginning of the year.” (11/10/26)
- Israel: Eisenkot unveils agenda to reverse Netanyahu’s policies as new parliament is sworn in
Source: SFGate
“Gadi Eisenkot, the politician tasked with forming a new Israeli government, pledged on Tuesday to reverse many of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies as the new parliament was sworn in. The pledge sets the stage for a consequential month of legislative action and coalition negotiations. Eisenkot, a former military chief, has up to six weeks to form a government that would end the tenure of Israel’s longest-serving prime minister. While it remains unclear whether Eisenkot will be able to forge a coalition government, the new Knesset can enact legislation in the meantime. Netanyahu’s opponents now control a solid majority in parliament. Eisenkot’s bloc introduced a series of bills at the start of the legislative session that target Netanyahu and his policies.” (11/10/26)
- Palestine: Israeli forces murder 14-year-old in occupied West Bank
Source: Al Jazeera [Qatari state media]
“Israeli forces have shot and killed a 14-year-old Palestinian boy and wounded two other teens during a raid on the village of Burqa in the occupied West Bank, according to officials. The Palestinian Ministry of Health identified the victim on Tuesday as Moataz Iyad Daghlas and said Israeli authorities were withholding his body. … The Israeli military confirmed the shooting in Burqa, which is located near the city of Nablus. In a statement, the military said soldiers opened fire to prevent Palestinians from throwing stones at Israeli vehicles.” (11/10/26)
- Anthropic set for $1.3 trillion stock market debut despite “catastrophic” AI warning
Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“Anthropic, the artificial intelligence (AI) company behind the Claude chatbot, could be valued at around $1.3 trillion (£1 trillion) when it lists its shares for sale on New York’s Nasdaq stock exchange. The loss-making company says it will offer its shares for between $70 and $78 each and will raise up to $64bn when it floats this month. It would value Anthropic at between $1.1tn and $1.3tn which, although large, is below the $2tn some backers of the firm predicted in summer, according to the Financial Times. The huge valuation comes despite the company warning last month that AI could pose ‘catastrophic or existential risks to humanity’. It is floating at a volatile time for big tech firms. After last week’s US midterm elections, the Nasdaq fell sharply on concerns a Democrat-led Congress could slow development of AI and the buildout of data centres.” (11/10/26)
- US Regime to Skip UN Human Rights Review, Drawing Censure
Source: US News & World Report
“The United States will spurn a UN meeting on Tuesday where its human rights record under President Donald Trump was due to be examined, drawing criticism from rights groups who say violations have surged to levels not seen in decades. Washington disengaged from the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council last year, citing an anti-Israel bias, and this is the second year in a row that it has skipped its own review — a process that even dictatorships take part in. The US no-show will likely mean the event is postponed until January, according to a draft UN document and diplomats. A US State Department spokesperson said participation would imply endorsement of the council’s work.” (11/10/26)
- Turkey: Thunberg warns “everything we love is at stake” as she arrives at UN climate talks
Source: SFGate
“Climate activist Greta Thunberg arrived at U.N. climate talks on Tuesday, condemning the annual proceedings as hypocritical and urging leaders to put people and the planet ahead of profits and power. The COP31 conference is being held in the Turkish resort city of Antalya following a year of deadly climate-related disasters, including heat waves and floods, and another energy shock caused by the Iran war. ‘It’s a hypocrisy every year that the host countries are given an opportunity to whitewash themselves and we know that these negotiations are filled with lobbyists, paid by the very destructive industries which are benefiting from our extremely violent status quo,’ Thunberg said as she arrived. ‘Our political and economic systems that have become incompatible with human nature.’ COP31 co-hosts Turkey and Australia are promoting renewable energy and rooftop solar installations, but both still rely heavily on fossil fuels, especially coal, to generate electricity.” (11/10/26)
- Amnesty urges El Salvadoran regime to disclose terms of Haiti troop deployment
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“Amnesty International on Monday urged El Salvador and Haiti to release the agreement governing the mass deployment of Salvadoran troops into the gang-plagued Caribbean nation, and for both countries to ensure that rights are respected. Some 2,000 troops have been sent by El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele to Haiti since the mid-October disappearance of four Salvadoran personnel. The vast majority of the Salvadoran soldiers are not participating in the UN-backed Gang Suppression Force (GSF), raising concerns about their rules of engagement. … Bukele initially stated the deployment aimed at bringing home the missing personnel. However, he has subsequently hinted at a broader goal of eliminating Haiti’s powerful gangs, as he did in his own country with a campaign that has raised allegations of rights abuses.” (11/10/26)
- Annual Fundraiser: Happy Birthday to Me!
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Rational Review News Digest / Freedom News Daily - Abu Dhabi: US, Russian, Ukrainian regimes begin peace talks
Source: CBS News
“The United States, Ukraine and Russia have started talks in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday aimed at ending the war in Ukraine that began in 2022 when Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of his country’s neighbor. The two-day session is the first such meeting since February and will focus on security guarantees, a long-running demand from Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. … Ukraine argues that an immediate ceasefire is the necessary first step toward negotiating a wider settlement and says a direct meeting between Putin and Zelenskyy is the only way territorial issues can be settled.” (11/10/26)
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-russia-ukraine-war-talks-peace-abu-dhabi-deal/
- CA: Voters reject idiotic wealth theft proposal
Source: Associated Press
“California voters have rejected a first-in-the-nation tax on the net worth of billionaires following a contentious ballot fight that generated huge spending by some prominent tech leaders eager to stop their taxes from going up. The measure’s failure is a win for Democratic leaders who opposed it, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, who may run for president in 2028. Critics of the tax, known as Proposition 40, said it would have prompted ultrawealthy taxpayers to leave the state. Most Californians vote by mail, and any ballot postmarked by Election Day that arrives within a week is counted, meaning it often takes days or even weeks for close races to be settled. The Associated Press determined Monday that ‘no’ had received enough votes to win.” (11/09/26)
https://apnews.com/article/california-billionaire-tax-4ae8cbdc057b99579818016f02ac9d9e
- Israel: New parliament to be sworn in as Eisenkot seeks regime
Source: Yahoo! News
“Israel’s new parliament will be sworn in Tuesday, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu set to lose his majority even as rival Gadi Eisenkot still works to form a new government. President Isaac Herzog will deliver a speech at 4:00 pm (1400 GMT) for the swearing-in of the 120-seat parliament, in which neither Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc nor Eisenkot’s opposition will hold a majority. The opposition hopes to use its newfound legislative power to move quickly on key priorities, including a commission to investigate security failures under Netanyahu that allowed the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas, the deadliest day in Israel’s history. Herzog on Sunday gave Eisenkot the initial mandate to form a government, starting the clock for him to cobble together a coalition within 28 days, with a possible 14-day extension.” (11/10/26)
https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/israel-parliament-sworn-eisenkot-seeks-091640633.html
- Trump says US war in Iran “effectively over” as he plays down escalation concerns
Source: The Guardian
“Donald Trump has said that the war in Iran is ‘effectively over’ as he played down concerns that the US would escalate its military campaign against Tehran after the midterm elections. During a White House press conference, Trump said that Israel and Gulf allies in the region were well protected from Iran and that an escalation was not needed. … ‘We’re seeing momentum toward the end of this conflict. I think it’s going to be ending fairly soon,’ he added. Trump has frequently exaggerated claims about the status of negotiations with Iran, saying a final peace deal was imminent dozens of times during the nearly nine-month long war.” (11/09/26)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/nov/09/trump-iran-war
- UK: Brand Sentenced to 10 1/2 Years for Rape
Source: New York Times
“Russell Brand, the comedian, actor and conspiracy-minded YouTuber, was sentenced on Monday to 10 and a half years in prison for the rape and sexual assaults that he was convicted of last week. The presiding judge, Joel Bennathan, said in a sentencing hearing at Southwark Crown Court in London that Mr. Brand, 51, was ‘a sexual predator’ with a ‘casual, arrogant disregard’ for women’s wishes. … The decision came four days after a jury found Mr. Brand guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault, in a trial in which six women testified about episodes that they said occurred between 2004 and 2009.” (11/09/26)
- Hungary: Police detain brother of ex-PM Orban
Source: South China Morning Post [Hong Kong]
“Hungarian police took nationalist ex-leader Viktor Orban’s brother into custody on Monday, according to a press report shared by Prime Minister Peter Magyar. Pro-EU conservative Magyar won a landslide election victory in April to end 16 years in power for Orban, promising to investigate alleged corruption and abuse of office during his rival’s rule. ‘According to press reports, Viktor Orban’s brother, Aron Orban, has been taken into custody on suspicion of human trafficking,’ Magyar wrote on social media. The original report comes from Kontroll, a news site owned by Magyar’s brother Marton Magyar.” (11/09/26)
- More than 2 million attend Pope Leo XIV’s first mass in Argentina
Source: United Press International
“More than 2 million people gathered Monday near the Monumento de los Españoles, a landmark along one of Buenos Aires’ main boulevards, to attend Pope Leo XIV’s first mass in Argentina, according to estimates from the Buenos Aires city government. The gathering was the largest of his papacy so far and marked a historic occasion after nearly 40 years without a papal visit to Argentina. … Before celebrating mass, Leo began the second day of his visit to Argentina at the Pequeño Cottolengo Don Orione in Claypole, a residential care facility for people with disabilities, where he stressed that a country’s dignity is measured by its commitment to inclusion, newspaper La Nacion reported.” (11/09/26)
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2026/11/09/latam-argentina-pope-mass/8271794244018/
- Boeing to cut 5% of commercial airplane workers as production increase takes longer than expected
Source: CNBC
“Boeing said Monday that it plans to cut 5% of its commercial airplane workforce as its production ramp-up is moving at a slower pace than the company expected. The cuts will be through a combination of attrition and layoffs, Stephanie Pope, head of the commercial aircraft unit, said in a memo to staff. Pope reiterated that the company is still working to stabilize production rates of its best-selling 737 Max planes, which are made outside of Seattle. CEO Kelly Ortberg told investors last month that the company won’t significantly increase production of the Max aircraft until the second half of next year. He said the company’s wing production has been slower than expected.” (11/09/26)
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/11/09/boeing-layoffs-commercial-airplane.html
- “Crumbs”: French PM’s 1.6% minimum wage increase fails to placate unions
Source: France 24 [French state media]
“French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Monday he was bringing forward a planned hike in the minimum wage to December from January, as he sought to defuse a cost-of-living crisis that has sparked some of France’s worst civil unrest in years. … The hike falls short of union demands, with the CFDT, France’s largest union, calling for a €100 increase, while the left-wing CGT union is demanding a 10% rise, equivalent to around €150 a month.’ (11/09/26)
- 150,000 Tents Wait Just Outside Gaza as Israel Blocks Shelter Aid For Flood-Ravaged Exclave
Source: Common Dreams
“As severe floods ravage Gaza, Israel is continuing to block the entry of tents, repair materials, and mobile homes despite the aid provisions of the October 2025 ‘ceasefire’ agreement. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported Monday that more than 150,000 tents are ready to be sent to Gaza, where it said more vacuum trucks and mobile dewatering pumps were urgently needed. At least 70,000 tents were flooded in a single day this weekend. At least one infant reportedly drowned. A mother and her two children, along with three other children from the same family, were killed when a sandbank collapsed onto their tents. ‘Over the weekend, while families slept, water flooded their tents and engulfed entire camps,’ said Ahmad Alhendawi, Save the Children’s regional director for the Middle East and North Africa.” (11/09/26)
https://www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-floods-shelter-blocked-israel
- “Junk history” and Swedish neutrality
Source: Responsible Statecraft
by Johan Wennstrom“Even Swedes take the wrong lessons from their past, pushing them to make very non-strategic decisions when it comes to NATO and Ukraine today.” (11/10/26)
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/world-war-two-sweden-neutrality/
- The Final Struggle for Equal Recognition
Source: Liberal Currents
by Silvaria Lysandtra Zemaitis“Across the Western world, trans rights are under attack, from bathrooms, to sports, to basic medical care. We treat these attacks one-by-one, talking one day about the inherent privacy of bathroom stalls, the next about bones and muscle growth, the third about the proven safety of hormone therapy. We have missed the forest for the trees. While we talk about legal rights, legal protections, and so forth, there is precious little discussion about what trans politics is about.” (11/10/26)
https://www.liberalcurrents.com/the-final-struggle-for-equal-recognition/
- “It’s Not My Fault,” Plead Guilty Neocons
Source: Libertarian Institute
by Charles Goyette“In October 2004, the Iraq Survey Group presented its exhaustive report to Congress: Iraq did not possess any stockpiles of chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons at the time of the American invasion; its active programs had been destroyed more than a decade earlier, shortly after the 1991 Gulf War. A month later President Bush was reelected, having successfully blamed the deadly fiasco on intelligence failures. Napoleon should have thought of that excuse for his fateful invasion or Russia. The ‘it’s not their fault’ talking point is so sturdy that Trump supporters and neocons are employing it again to disavow the role of the Iran War in one of the biggest electoral wipeouts in American history.” (11/10/26)
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/its-not-my-fault-plead-guilty-neocons
- The Cybertruck era is over, but America’s electric truck experiment isn’t
Source: Grist
by Kate Yoder“Despite recent flops, experts hope the next round of electric pickups will be cheaper — and less polarizing.” (11/10/26)
https://grist.org/culture/tesla-cybertruck-electric-truck-experiment/
- Is diversification the heart of investment?
Source: Cobden Centre
by Dr. Frank Shostak“According to the MPT [Modern Portfolio Theory] framework, all market participants have the same expectations about future securities’ returns. Yet, if participants are alike in the sense of having homogeneous expectations, then why should there be trade? After all, trade implies the existence of heterogeneous expectations. A buyer expects a rise in the asset price while the seller expects a fall in the price. The MPT framework also implies that market participants have the same knowledge.” (11/10/26)
https://www.cobdencentre.org/2026/11/is-diversification-the-heart-of-investment-2/
- What Democratic Socialists Can Learn About Endorsing a Presidential Candidate in 2028
Source: In These Times
by David Duhalde“Will there be a socialist presidential standard bearer in 2028? The answer may be coming soon, as every four years, it seems, U.S. presidential candidates announce earlier and earlier. After the Democrats’ drubbing of Republicans in the midterms, attention is turning to the future role of the Left in American politics. With the largest number of socialists entering Congress in U.S. history, and progressives winning up and down the ballot, across the country, a lane is open to vie for the highest office in the country. White House contenders launching sooner than ever was one of the reasons the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) leadership passed a measure at its September 2026 meeting allowing the body to make a presidential endorsement ahead of DSA’s 2027 summer convention.” (11/09/26)
- No, JD Vance Is Not Toast
Source: The American Conservative
by Luke Nicastro“Over at the New York Times last week, the conservative commentator and editor of Compact Matthew Schmitz pronounced Vice President J.D. Vance the ‘biggest loser’ of the midterm elections. Despite the popular endorsement of Vance’s own view of the war—viz., that it was an egregious mistake that should be corrected posthaste—Schmitz found in the blue tsunami only downside for the vice president. ‘J.D. Vance Is Probably Toast,’ ran the headline. … reports of Vance’s political demise are greatly exaggerated. In fact, the further we get from the initial shock and hysteria of the midterm massacre, the better his prospects look.” (11/10/26)
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/no-j-d-vance-is-not-toast/
- The Market Route for a Wealth Tax
Source: CounterPunch
by Dean Baker“While proponents of a wealth tax proved unsuccessful at the polls in their efforts to downsize the billionaires, it seems the financial markets are doing the job for them. The S&P 500 index fell 4.4 percent on Thursday, more than reversing its post-election rally on Wednesday. The NASDAQ dropped 5.5 percent, losing more in one day than what the wealth tax would have taken from the billionaires over 5 years.” (11/10/26)
https://www.counterpunch.org/2026/11/10/the-market-route-for-a-wealth-tax/
- Labor Law’s Illiberal Trajectory
Source: Law & Liberty
by Alex MacDonald“Labor law was always in tension with classical liberalism. It doesn’t have to be.” (11/10/26)
- Trump’s Electoral Fraud Claims Are Now Evidence-Proof
Source: The Bulwark
by Will Saletan“Donald Trump has long aspired to build an impregnable edifice. Now, finally, he has done it: He has constructed a narrative of election fraud that’s completely impervious to evidence. On Monday, nearly a week after his party was trounced in the midterms, Trump wrote on Truth Social …. ‘It’s all about the machines, which are far more important than the voter!’ Like all of Trump’s allegations about massive voter fraud, this one is baseless. But as a denialist innovation, it’s marvelous. It covers all the scenarios he failed to cover in his previous tales of rigging and cheating. Anytime he loses, no matter the facts or circumstances, he can say the election was stolen.” (11/10/26)
- Section 8 is Still a Wrecking Ball
Source: JimBovard.com
by James Bovard“Outrageous benefits have always been a feature, not a bug, of the Section 8 rental subsidy program created in 1974. In 1980, the US General Accounting Office concluded: ‘The high rents and quality of [Section 8] housing invite resentment on the part of the taxpaying public who see their subsidized neighbors living in better accommodations than they themselves can afford.’ GAO also observed that Section 8’s goal of mixing the poor and the middle class is often not achieved because Section 8 ‘housing is often so costly that … even middle-income unassisted households cannot afford to live in it.’ Federal rental handouts reward irresponsibility and perennially bring out the worst in many recipients.” (11/09/26)
https://jimbovard.com/blog/2026/11/09/section-8-is-still-a-wrecking-ball/
- NYC’s public-schools system is now officially a $45 billion scandal factory
Source: New York Post
by staff“If its other failings weren’t maddening enough, now the $45 billion city Department of Education is hiring obvious psychos to work with kids and paying ‘principals’ $200,000 to run nonexistent schools. Sayed Mohassib allegedly slaughtered jogger Katie Suarez near the Belt Parkway in Bath Beach Oct. 30; he claims he found himself sitting on a nearby bench, drenched in blood but with no knowledge of why. Scariest of all, he was then working as a substitute paraprofessional at PS 200, a position of trust and responsibility helping young children. Did anyone check his background? After a red-flag few weeks with the NYPD, he joined the Marines only to get discharged on psychiatric grounds, then be rejected for reinstatement as a cop — and that very same day win transport to Bellevue because of his erratic behavior.” (11/10/26)
- Socialism vs. Socialism vs. Socialism
Source: Common Sense
by Paul Jacob“‘Together we will defeat communism, socialism and Marxism in America,’ said President Trump in a mid-term election spot. ‘America will never be a communist country.’ But what does he mean by those words? … ‘You can’t defeat socialism with an alternative form of collectivism,’ explains Agustina Vergara Cid of the Register, ‘only with its opposite: the principle that the individual is not a means to any group’s end.’ That’s unfortunately not how Trump or Vance approach the issue … but that may be of limited relevance, considering that their failures led to a backlash sending actual communists into Congress.” (11/09/26)
https://thisiscommonsense.org/2026/11/09/socialism-vs-socialism/
- Beyond Trump: A time to rethink American power
Source: Asia Times
by Brian Garvey“Last Tuesday’s election was a stunning defeat for President Donald Trump. Democrats won both houses of Congress, including Senate races in states they haven’t won in generations. Americans went to the polls angry about rising prices, government corruption, rising authoritarianism, and a war with Iran they never wanted. Those frustrations are deeply connected. But this moment can, and should, be an opportunity to do more than move beyond President Trump and his movement. It’s an opportunity for people across the country to question how we got here, and what needs to change about American power.” (11/10/26)
https://asiatimes.com/2026/11/beyond-trump-a-time-to-rethink-american-power/
- Democrats Should Do What’s Necessary to Stop Trump From Reassembling a Rogue Cabinet
Source: The UnPopulist
by Andy Craig“Limits on the president’s power to remove top officials have mostly fallen away. Cabinet secretaries have long served at the president’s pleasure. In June, the Supreme Court extended that rule to most independent agencies. … The confirmation vote is now the main point at which the Senate has a say over who exercises executive power, and Democrats should use all of it. That means taking the Constitution at its word. The text does not merely require the Senate’s consent to the president’s appointments. It gives the Senate two jobs: advice and consent. Consent is the up-or-down vote on a nominee. Advice is counsel, and nothing in the Constitution limits it to a verdict on a choice already made. It can include signaling to the president in advance whom senators would accept. For most offices, the Senate has let that half of the job lapse.” (11/09/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/democrats-should-do-whats-necessary
- The Best Ideas for Fixing US Schools, Part 2
Source: Show-Me Institute
by Cory Koedel“In September, The New York Times published 30 Ideas for Fixing U.S. Schools, Ranked by Experts. I was among the 37 experts surveyed about the effectiveness and cost of various reforms. In an earlier post I discussed two ideas where I agree with the consensus. Here I’ll talk about one where I disagree: the value of school vouchers.” (11/09/26)
https://showmeinstitute.org/article/education/the-best-ideas-for-fixing-u-s-schools-part-2/
- The Supreme Court could deal a death blow to civil rights precedent
Source: Los Angeles Times
by Erwin Chemerinsky“Although it’s difficult to imagine, the Supreme Court looks poised to eliminate the ability for citizens to bring legal action against U.S. Immigration and Customs agents and other federal officers who violate their constitutional rights. Following a hearing for Nielsen vs. Watanabe on Monday, there is every reason to fear that the court’s upcoming decision will be a disastrous one for civil rights enforcement. The issue stems from the absence of an actual law authorizing suits against federal officers when they violate the Constitution, while state and local officers can be sued for violating the Constitution under federal statute 42 U.S.C. Section 1983, a law that was adopted back in 1871.” (11/09/26)
- The Honeypot That Might End the AI Boom
Source: The American Prospect
by Ryan Cooper“It is somehow appropriate, given how artificial intelligence has enabled the greatest explosion of scams and frauds in history, that Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang was reportedly entrapped by a good old-fashioned honeypot. On October 29, The New York Times reported that, according to American intelligence agencies, Huang had been having an affair with a Chinese national, Alice Huang (no relation), who had been passing information to the Chinese government. Then on November 6, the Times reported that Huang was a straight-up spy, a Ministry of State Security asset. Two days later, the Nvidia board started an investigation. As of this writing, Huang has vowed not to step down, and has admitted only to cheating on his wife. Nvidia shares have fallen off, down about 17 percent since earlier in the month at time of writing.” (11/10/26)
https://prospect.org/2026/11/10/honeypot-that-might-end-the-ai-boom-jensen-huang-invidia/
- The Effect of the Midterms
Source: David Friedman’s Substack
by David Friedman“Control of congress matters — but not that much. The Democrats will not have enough votes to overcome a veto unless some Republicans support them. They will be able to block Trump’s judicial nominations but until they control the Presidency they cannot nominate and confirm their own. They can prevent Trump passing bills but to a considerable extent could already do that by taking advantage of the supermajority requirement to end debate in the Senate. The big effect of the midterms is, or might be, on Trump’s control of the Republican party.” (11/09/26)
https://daviddfriedman.substack.com/p/the-effect-of-the-midterms
- Voters Hated Tariffs. Here Are the Receipts.
Source: The Daily Economy
by Jon Miltimore & Laura Williams“Tariffs were supposed to rebuild American manufacturing and protect workers; mostly, they raised costs. Election results suggest protectionism’s costs have become a political liability.” (11/09/26)
https://thedailyeconomy.org/article/voters-hated-tariffs-here-are-the-receipts/
- The Make Socialism Great Again President Lost Bigly
Source: The UnPopulist
by Tom G Palmer“The most socialist administration in American history has been resoundingly repudiated by voters. The opposition won the House of Representatives in a landslide and is on track for roughly 255 to 260 seats to about 175 for Trump’s party—its largest House majority since 2008. In the Senate, the opposition holds at least 54 seats to 44 for Trump’s party, with two races in former ‘Trump country’ still uncalled: in Mississippi, its candidate holds a narrow lead, while Alaska’s contest remains too close to call. Lawlessness, socialist cronyism, corruption, tariffs, and war seem to have sucked the wind out of the MAGA sails.” (11/09/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/the-make-socialism-great-again-president
- Why is your cocktail so expensive? Ask the White House.
Source: Washington Post
by LP O’Brien“The holidays haven’t arrived yet, but many bars and restaurants are already testing recipes, calculating costs and placing bottle orders for what you’ll drink in December. That peppermint martini or cranberry cocktail takes time to reach the menu. Complicating the process this year: tariffs on countries that supply some of America’s favorite spirits. The latest is a ban on imports of certain Canadian whiskies, put in place by President Donald Trump to bring Canada back to the tariff negotiating table. As a longtime bartender and hospitality consultant, I hope the president’s negotiating gambit works. But I’m also worried about my colleagues in the hospitality industry, who need predictability to plan for the critical season ahead and are already facing tight margins as inflation curbs what customers are willing to spend.” (11/09/26)
- When America knew what it was defending
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by Samuel J Abrams“We spend an enormous amount of time arguing about free speech in America, especially on our college and university campuses. And too often, institutional leaders either stay silent or issue carefully worded statements that manage to say very little about how speech works in this country. … I think that too many forget that defending free expression does not require us to abandon judgment or pretend that every idea is equally worthy of respect. There is a difference between telling Americans what to think and reminding them why they are free to think for themselves.” (11/09/26)
https://www.fire.org/news/when-america-knew-what-it-was-defending
- Conservative Obtuseness on Cuba
Source: Future of Freedom Foundation
by Jacob G Hornberger“I’ve long been fascinated by the reluctance of conservatives to condemn wrongdoing by the U.S. government, especially since the time that the U.S. government was converted to a national-security state after World War II. The primary reason for this phenomenon, it seems to me, is that conservatives have come to view the federal government as a god, one that works in partnership with their religious God. In the conservative mind, it’s okay to carp about minor mistakes that their national-security god makes but it’s never okay to challenge or question it at a fundamental level. A good example of this conservative mindset is the decades-old U.S. economic embargo against Cuba and, more recently, the oil restrictions that the U.S. government has imposed against Cuba.” (11/09/26)
https://www.fff.org/2026/11/09/conservative-obtuseness-on-cuba/
- Will the Democrats Implode?
Source: Town Hall
by Mark Lewis“Democrat Party implosion isn’t an impossibility. The Democrats are not united, not by any stretch of the imagination, and their divisions are serious, for reasons I shall explain. And they are already having disagreements. A couple of headlines I saw Friday: From the ‘Beaufort Observer’: ‘Far Left Moving to Deny Hakeem Jeffries the Speaker Job, Put in Someone Farther Left’. And this one from Breitbart: ‘Mark Ruffalo Pushes Petition Urging House Democrats to Reject Hakeem Jeffries as Speaker: ‘Simply Not the Right Choice’’. In other words, the Menshevik Jeffries is not communist enough for the Bolshevik Ruffalo and his Leninist communist comrades. There are no ‘moderate’ Democrats anymore, folks; that animal went extinct with the dodo bird.” (11/09/26)
https://townhall.com/columnists/marklewis/2026/11/09/will-the-democrats-implode-n2686112
- The Wild Turnover of the Midterms Shows That Living Life Requires Ignoring Government
Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille“There are lessons to take from last week’s blue tidal wave which swept Republicans from power in Congress and across much of the country, just as there were from the 2024 ejection of Democrats from office. Among other things, party turnover underlines the futility of relying on government to maintain predictable conditions and to protect cherished liberties. The midterm elections may have been primarily a rejection of corruption and ineptitude among GOP officials, but they also empowered Democrats to enact an agenda in many places wildly at odds with what prevailed before.” (11/09/26)
- Collectivism: The Infectious Lie You’re Probably Telling
Source: Ludwig von Mises Institute
by Jason Montgomery“There is no such thing as ‘America/the US,’ ‘Israel,’ ‘Iran,’ ‘society,’ or ‘the public.’ There is no “general welfare,” and a nation does not, and cannot, have debt. Such claims indicate the linguistic/ideological/psychological disorder of collectivism: conceptualizing and interacting with human beings in terms of groups rather than as individuals.” (11/09/26)
https://mises.org/power-market/collectivism-infectious-lie-youre-probably-telling
- Trump Official Claims Those Who Oppose Iran War Are “Blinded By Satan”
Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone“US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee claims that anyone who opposes Trump’s war with Iran is being blinded by Satan. Like, the actual, literal devil character from the Bible. During an incredibly sycophantic recent interview on The Anchor Podcast, Huckabee was asked by the host if he believed European opposition to the US war on Iran was the result of mental problems. ‘I think it’s a spiritual issue,’ Huckabee replied. ‘I know it sounds a little funny for an ambassador to be talking like this, but look, I see this as spiritual darkness, spiritual blindness,’ adding that ‘Satan has blinded the minds of those and has captured their thinking.'” (11/09/26)
- The True Believer
Source: Persuasion
by Damon Linker“Far from signaling the conclusion of the Trump era, the midterm elections of 2026 now look likely to be viewed as the moment when the country began to confront an even more intense challenge to liberal democratic principles from the hardline xenophobic right than the one we’ve already been enduring for much of the past 10 years.” (11/09/26)
- The Taxes That Tax the Future
Source: Adam Smith Institute
by Madsen Pirie“Work is how most people create value. Tax it heavily and you get less of it. Income tax and National Insurance together make each extra hour less worth working, each promotion less worth seeking and each second job less worth taking. Some earners face effective marginal rates of 60 per cent as allowances are clawed back. Nobody designed that deliberately. It simply accumulated, like barnacles on a hull, slowing the ship a little more each year. A country that wants growth should want people to work, earn and advance. Taxing effort is a strange way to show it.” (11/09/26)
https://www.adamsmith.org/blog/the-taxes-that-tax-the-future
- The Reverse Ginsburg Scenario: Dems May Only Need to Wait Rather than Pack the Court
Source: Jonathan Turley
by Jonathan Turley“In Henry VI, Shakespeare wrote, ‘Defer no time, delays have dangerous ends’. Many today would like to chisel those words above the doors to the Supreme Court. Time and time again, justices waited too long for their own legacies. For many conservatives, the loss of both houses of Congress has created a true nightmare scenario in which two conservatives (Justice Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito) could hand Democrats the opportunity to take control of the Court without having to carry out their court-packing schemes. Control of the Court could now be lost by sheer attrition. Timing has always been a looming question for justices who want to see their seats filled by like-minded jurists. However, it is difficult to walk away from being one of nine.” (11/09/26)
- Lessons from the Berlin Wall
Source: Liberalism.org
by Rainer Heufers“The fall of the Berlin Wall belongs to history, but its lessons do not. Across many countries today, including established democracies such as the United States, we see political forces challenging constitutional constraints, weakening independent institutions, concentrating executive power, or treating political opponents as enemies rather than legitimate competitors. Elsewhere, authoritarian governments have become more confident in suppressing dissent and restricting individual freedom. The forms differ, but the question confronting citizens remains familiar: what do we do when those in power gradually erode the institutions that protect our freedom?” (11/09/26)
- FACTS: Free Market Competition Fixes Healthcare Better Than the Bernie Sanders Medicare Plan
Source: Karl Dickey’s Freedom Vanguard
by Karl Dickey“Monopolies consistently deliver poor service and high costs. A government monopoly operates with even less efficiency than a corporate one needing happy customers to flourish. Government solutions fail because they rely on coercion and ‘no choice’ rather than voluntary exchange. The free market forces providers to earn customer loyalty. Government programs trap citizens in a system with no exit. When the government controls healthcare, patients lose their bargaining power and thereby their choices.” (11/09/26)
https://palmbeachexaminer.substack.com/p/facts-free-market-competition-fixes
- Voters Pull Back the Curtain on Trump’s Lies
Source: Our Future
by Sulma Arias“I am glad that voters in Kansas, my home state, helped give Trump his final rebuke in the midterm elections. After all, Kansas was home to a girl named Dorothy, who pulled back a curtain to reveal that the Great Wizard who claimed only he could solve the world’s problems was nothing but a fraud. Dorothy is the hero of L. Frank Baum’s classic novel, ‘The Wizard of Oz’. Written in 1900, this beloved children’s story is also considered a parable about the injustices faced by working people during the Gilded Age. Swept away from her home by a storm, Dorothy believes only the Great Wizard has the power to help her. Then, when she visits his castle, she discovers that all along he was lying – and that she had the power to make her own way home.” (11/08/26)
https://ourfuture.org/20261108/voters-pull-back-the-curtain-on-trumps-lies
- The Stupid, Boring Evil of Payton Gendron
Source: The Dispatch
by Nick Pompella“People want to understand how the Columbine shooters, or Adam Lanza of Sandy Hook, or Payton Gendron of Buffalo—who murdered 10 black people at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York on May 14, 2022—could do something so terrible to their fellow human beings. We seek and we find unsatisfactory answers. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold were goths, were Mansonites, were bullied at school. Adam Lanza was autistic and had OCD. Or, in Payton Gendron’s case, we get the least helpful answer of all: He was ‘radicalized online.'” (11/09/26)
https://thedispatch.com/article/payton-gendron-mass-shooters-buffalo-internet/
- Radio Atlantic, 11/09/26
Source: The Atlantic
“Congress vs. Hegseth.” (11/09/26)
https://www.theatlantic.com/podcasts/2026/11/ra-iran-fallout/689349/
- Advisory Opinions, 11/10/26
Source: The Dispatch
“Confirming a Justice Before a Vacancy.” (11/10/26)
https://thedispatch.com/podcast/advisoryopinions/confirming-a-justice-before-a-vacancy/
- The Chris Hedges Report, 11/09/26
Source: The Chris Hedges Report
“Countering Historical Erasure With Journalism | Chris Hedges in Ottawa.” (11/09/26)
https://chrishedges.substack.com/p/countering-historical-erasure-with
- Beyond the results: Making sense of the 2026 midterms
Source: Niskanen Center
“Matt Grossmann unpacks the results with John Sides, Keena Lipsitz, and Daron Shaw.” (11/10/26)
https://hypertext.niskanencenter.org/p/dont-miss-our-midterms-debrief-tomorrow
- Exponential View, 11/09/26
Source: Noahpinion
“Noah Smith and Azeem Azhar discuss the AI boom.” (11/09/26)
https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/noah-smith-and-azeem-azhar-discuss
- SolutionsWatch, 11/10/26
Source: The Corbett Report
“How to Create A GOOD Think Tank.” (11/10/26)
- Decoding the Midterms
Source: Brennan Center for Justice
“Just days after polls close, we will host two conversations on what the electorate actually said and how those answers will influence lawmaking over the next two years.” (11/09/260
- Nonzero, 11/09/26
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“The Age of Big Math | Robert Wright & Steven Strogatz.” (11/09/26)
- TechTank, season 6, episode 1
Source: Brookings Institution
“Who decides the future of AI?” (11/09/26)
https://shows.acast.com/tech-tank/episodes/who-decides-the-future-of-ai
- Antiwar News with Dave DeCamp, 11/09/26
Source: Antiwar.com
“Report: US To Extend Israel Military Aid to 2033, Iran Says US ‘Manufacturing Fake News,’ and More.” (11/09/26)
- Reason Roundtable, 11/09/26
Source: Reason
“Thomas Massie Is Right To Impeach Pete Hegseth.” (11/09/26)
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/11/09/thomas-massie-is-right-to-impeach-pete-hegseth/
- EconTalk, 11/09/26
Source: EconTalk
“Hubris, Humility, and the AI Revolution (with Walter Isaacson).” (11/09/26)
https://www.econtalk.org/hubris-humility-and-the-ai-revolution-with-walter-isaacson/
- Ron Paul Liberty Report, 11/09/26
Source: Ron Paul Liberty Report
“Hegseth’s Last Ride?” (11/09/26)
- Rising, 11/09/26
Source: The Hill
“Robby Soave gives his radar on Rep. Hakeem Jeffries firing back at those on the left who are calling for him to be ousted as House leader.” (11/09/26)
- Ask the Author: Francis Fukuyama and Damon Linker on The Post-Midterm Reality
Source: Notes from the Middleground
“A recording from Damon Linker and Persuasion’s live video.” (11/09/26)
https://damonlinker.substack.com/p/ask-the-author-francis-fukuyama-and
- Trita Parsi on The Scott Horton Show
Source: The Scott Horton Show
“Trita Parsi returns to the show to discuss what will likely happen next after voters made their opposition to Trump’s war clear in the midterm elections. Scott and Parsi dig into the dynamics within the Trump administration and talk about how Israel’s election also affects things.” (11/09/26)
- The Daily Blast With Greg Sargent, 11/09/26
Source: The New Republic
“Angry Trump Unravels as GOPers Openly Admit He Wrecked Their 2028 Map.” (11/09/26)
https://newrepublic.com/article/217735/angry-trump-unravels-gopers-openly-admit-wrecked-2028-map
- Bulwark Takes, 11/09/26
Source: The Bulwark
“Trump’s Interview Sends MAGA Into a Full-Blown Meltdown.” (11/09/26)
- The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg, 11/09/26
Source: The Dispatch
“With Jonah Goldberg sleeping off his election-night hangover, Dispatch in-house grumbler Kevin Williamson takes the helm for today’s conversation with author Jeanna Smialek. The pair discuss Jeanna’s new book about the novelist and cover economist Maria Edgeworth, digging into political economy, Adam Smith, moral novels, women’s education, Harriet Martineau, early feminism, utilitarianism, value theory, Ireland, Little House on the Prairie, and the Great Potato Famine.” (11/09/26)
- Hexapodia Podcast, 11/09/26
Source: Noahpinion
“Noah, Brad DeLong, and Dan Wang discuss the Anthropic IPO.” (11/09/26)
https://www.noahpinion.blog/p/noah-brad-delong-and-dan-wang-discuss